Mortals Promise
by FatalStarshine
Summary: Prequel to the movie! Young Jareth meets a young Sarah as the two forge a friendship. Not everyone is happy about that! Will their friendship be able to survive when others start to plot against them? Or were they doomed from the beginning? First fic! Rating might go up in the future to T.
1. Introductions

**A/N:** Just a bit of a small introduction right here before you start! This story is a prequel to the events that happen in Labyrinth. I know some ages and details might be missing or not correct completely, but I'm not exactly trying to follow canon when it comes to the movie. I hope everyone enjoys!

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Labyrinth!

"Jareth!" The half angry shout could be heard in the surrounding corridors, the woman's voice following after a pre-teen boy who had silently tried to sneak into his room.

With his door to his chambers half open, the tall frame of the prince turned around to face his mother not bothering to hide the sulky expression that was written across his face. "Yes?"

"Where have you been?! You are covered in muck, you come in late, and you have been skipping out on your studies _again_."

As queen, Celinette knew it was her duty as ruler and mother to make sure that her one and only son was ready to take the role as king one day. Yet here he was fighting her every step of the way. She knew boys would be boys as they say, and she didn't mind him missing his studies once in a while. Though here in this week alone he had conveniently vanished whenever it was time for his teacher to make his appearance.

"I'm waiting." She said, crossing her arms in front of her. She wasn't even sure why she bothered asking when it was plain and obvious where he had spent all day.

"I was with the goblins mother." The prince said with a sigh, pushing his door open fully to his room. Mentally he prayed she wouldn't follow him in for another scolding, but his prayers were not to be answered at the sound of her entering his room.

Her near silent hiss in anger didn't go unheard by her son, as mad as she was she knew why her son sought out the disgustingly wild creatures. "It isn't safe over there! The goblins have had no ruler in over a 1,000 years which is why the run wild! No one has the patience to rule over them." The last sentence was muttered while she shook her head.

Wanting to break the growing tension between them he gave her his best goofy grin, shaking his head so that his wild blond locks danced around his head. "Mother, haven't you heard? Why I have been crowned the Goblin King! To hear my own mother say such harsh things about my subjects just causes my ears to burn!" Sticking his tongue out he was glad to be rewarded with a small laugh from his mother, the worry in her eyes being replaced with the kindness that usually lingered there.

Flicking her wrist the muck that covered her son vanished, leaving a much cleaner prince before her. The stench had been unbearable she couldn't understand how he stood there so casually covered in it. "Well my dear king, which such a kingdom under your rule I should think it was time for you to go ahead and get yourself to bed. Plus you _do_ still have your lessons for tomorrow." She hinted at him.

Nodding his head he walked back over to his mother to give her a brief hug. Even though he was young he was already the same height as her, which made it easier to plant a comforting kiss on her cheek. "I will be there mother, don't worry."

With a parting smile Celinette left her son to ready himself for bed, praying that he would turn up for classes tomorrow. If he missed much more his father would have to be alerted, and that wouldn't do her son any good at all. Lips pursed she headed back down the hall, the faint lighting of the castle causing her white locks of hair to almost glow.

Dressed for sleep, Jareth had sprawled out on his bed trying to ignore the sour feeling that was spreading throughout his gut from lying to his mother. It had only been a partial lie, but still it felt like a sinking rock in his stomach. He had been at the Goblin Kingdom but it had been more or less for an alibi. He had spent the last part of his day up there. _In the mortal's world_. Having finally managed to learn the soft spoken spell to get him up there, he knew it would be another year or so before he learned of his animal form that would take him up there as he pleased.

What a day it had been! To see their world and how they lived, though to be truthful his fascination in it had been more with a young child he had met up there. He could still see the tears that had been gathering in her rich green eyes.

_Earlier that day.._

He had done it! After nearly two years of wrong spells he had finally found the right one. Now the prince, future King of the Fae, found himself in a dense forest that rested on the moral world! His mismatched eyes widened as he looked around at the trees, a few of them baring a resemblance to the odd trees in his world. The faintest trace of magic still lingered here which lead him to believe that thousands and thousands of years ago this forest had been a part of the one in his world. When magic and humans coexisted together, before they had begun to fear it so and persecuted any magical being they could get their hands on. So for the safety of all species the magical world broke off from theirs, going underground. Soon it had all just become a story, a legend now for the humans.

In his plainest pair of tan pants and a loose long sleeved white top the prince set off through the forest, not at all sure of what he was looking for.

'_You would think being a prince I would have more friends.' _He thought to himself. When in fact it was the total opposite. Besides a few servants, the goblins, and his mother of all people; he had no one to call friend. The other fae children already treated him as if he was their king. Shying away from him or bowing to the point their noses scraped he ground. It disgusted and frustrated him, he didn't even want to be their king! His anger boiled over as he aimed a swift kick at a nearby rock which launched it into a large tree. He wished what he had said to his mother was true and that he was the goblin king! The chaos over there was everything a boy could want; they didn't seem bothered by his title in the least bit. His thoughts were cut off by the nearby sound of something horrible. Picking his pace up, he noted the trees thinning out until he stood at what looked to be a solid black river. His mind ticked as he thought over what it could be. Oh! It was called a road, humans used it for traveling.

Looking around he didn't see anything that would have made the sound he had heard in the forest, and taking that for good measure he bounded on the road and crossed it to what looked like a small human living area. The houses looking like tiny knock offs of the castle he lived in. With the sky cloudy overhead it was almost promising it would open up soon to rain on the earth below. His thoughts on that it took him a few moments before his sensitive ears heard a second noise.

Crying.

Someone was softly crying nearby, a potential friend in need perhaps? Pleased by his discovery of someone in need he moved closer to the homes peering over fences as he tried to locate the source. As he drew closer it became obvious it was female tears. The discovery was a small disappointment as he had been hoping to have a boy to hang out with for once. Not a girl who feared anything dirty and just avoided fun in general.

That thought was instantly discarded when he found her. The girl, whoever she was, looked nothing like the girls he had seen in his world. The wooden fence separated the pair, so he half hung over it to look at her. Rich brown hair curled slightly resting just below her shoulders, her small frame hugging itself at the knees almost like she was trying to make herself as small as possible behind the bushes that decorated her dwelling. It soon became obvious to why she was crying when he picked up on the angry shouts that was going on in her home.

He had no idea what to say to this girl, this human. Staying on his perch he chose the simplest method he could. "Are you okay?" The question spilled out of his lips before he could question himself. The crying instantly turned to a shriek of surprise as she looked up at him. Her face which had been hidden looking directly up at him, her wide green eyes taking in the sight of him.

"Who are you, and what are you doing up on our fence?" It was obvious she was trying to sound brave, but the cracking in her voice ruined that image completely. Unbothered by her not so very friendly welcome he hoped off and onto her side of the fence, earning another shriek.

"Stop with that yelling! I'm not going to hurt you, I was just trying to see if you were okay. I could hear you crying." He complained, lounging on the fence with his eyes on the window of her home. From the sound of the arguing it sounded like they were on the other side of the house.

"Well it isn't any of your business to why I'm crying! Now get out of my yard!" She huffed, her tears momentarily forgotten. Judging by her appearance she couldn't be any older than eight. He would of thought older when she crossed her arms in a near perfect imitation of his mother. The sight of it almost made him cringe.

"Some grateful girl you are! " He grumbled out, aggravated that this wasn't going how he had hoped. Looking at her, he was struck with inspiration to try again though. At least he had got her to stop crying. "I guess I'll leave then, show someone else my magic tricks and all. You can go back to crying yourself silly." He taunted her, already grabbing a hold of the fence to climb back over.

"W-Wait, you can do magic?" Her eyes were calculating, as she mentally debated with herself if she should let him go or wait and see what he could do. Rubbing the remaining tears off her face she sat up a bit straighter. "Let me see, and if you are lying you can go ahead and leave!" She added the last part in a hasty threat.

Grinning at her he released her fence and held his hand out in front of her. His wrist flicked along with his fingers as a clear crystal orb appeared in his hand, his fingers causing it to dance back and forth. "I'm not lying, see?" He taunted, pleased that her frown had turned to a look of amazement.

"How'd you do that?" She spoke eagerly, tears forgotten. Her eyes followed the progress the orb made in his hand as another one soon joined it as well. They seemed to just be popping out of thin air.

"Magic! Told you I could." The young prince said. "What is your name by the way? Mine is Jareth."

He waited for her to introduce herself to him, while he did he vanished the two orbs from sight. He started to think his attempt to impress her had failed when she didn't respond. Watching her lips press together he was rewarded with her name.

"Sarah Williams."

"Well Sarah Williams, I have proven that I can do magic, along with stopping your tears. I should like to think that we are now friends, what do you say?" He had no idea why he was offering her his friendship; she hadn't been the most pleasant girl he has ever spoken too. Deep down though, he felt like she needed a friend just as bad as he did.

She took her lower lip into her mouth chewing on it as she thought his words over. Seconds felt like minutes before she gave a small nod. "Friends." He didn't have much time to celebrate as a shout from the house interrupted the pair.

"SARAH, WHERE ARE YOU?"

A woman's voice called from the house, causing Jareth to panic before he saw that she hadn't yet reached the window overlooking the backyard. Kneeling down to Sarah's level he spoke in a rushed voice. "Promise to meet me here again in one week. If you do I will tell you all about me and how I do my magic, as long as you promise to let me know more about you." It was a request but his tone almost made it sound more like a demand. She stiffened slightly but gave him a small nod. "Deal."

"Good!" He smirked at her before grasping her fence and climbing back over it. Not waiting to see if she made it to the house or if the woman found her he ran back to the forest that connected their worlds. Waiting until he was near the same trees before muttering the spell once more. Back in his world he traipsed to the goblin kingdom to start a quick muck fight with a few before heading home.

Now the young prince lay in his bed wondering idly about the human called Sarah. Would she keep her promise about meeting him? Was the woman shouting her mother? Arguing with perhaps her father? That was something he experienced often enough when his father was home. Also, he wondered if she would indeed tell him more about her and her life. With his eyelids fluttering shut he couldn't help but wonder why he couldn't get those green eyes out of his head.

**A/N: **So ends our first chapter! It turned outa lot longer than I had originally planned but I wanted to get his flashback in here! I can't promise all my updates will be this long but I can promise they won't be too short. This is my first fanfiction so I can't wait to see where this goes and hopefully develop my writing as well. Now comes for the begging! PLEASE REVIEW! :D! If you have any questions leave them in your review and I will message you with answers if possible.

xXxFatalStarshinexXx


	2. Childhood Woes

**A/N**: Another update! For those who don't know I've been in the hospital for months, but I'm finally on the road to recovery! So I have a bit of free time, and I'll try to update as often as I can for everyone. PLEASE REVIEW! This chapter is going to have a bit of the last chapter in it, but from Sarah's POV.

**Disclaimer:** I don't own Labyrinth or any of its characters. If I did I would be one happy camper!

* * *

Sarah hated when her parents started fighting like this. The smaller ones she could handle a bit better, at least she could ignore those in her room. This one though was by far the worst fight between the pair yet. It hadn't helped her fears when she had heard her mother on the phone with a friend earlier this evening discussing a plan of actually leaving. At first she thought her mother was talking about the summer vacation they had planned until she responded to some unknown question that she didn't have the resources to take Sarah. She may be just an eight year old, but she wasn't a stupid eight year old. She knew what her mother meant. Then her dad had come home and an argument had started up, instantly escalating to screaming and insults.

What other choice did she have but to sit back and take cover in the backyard? Even all the way back here, tucked between the fence and bushes she could still hear them going at it. Just barely though, if she put her hands over her ears she couldn't hear them at all. So there she sat, hunkered down in the dirt with her knees against her chest so that she could hide her face in them and her hands over her ears to muffle the world and its problems out. She hadn't even realized that her own crying had steadily gotten louder as the minutes ticked by.

Goosebumps suddenly appeared along her flesh as she was overwhelmed by the feeling that someone was watching her. Lowering her hands, she peered between her knees and through the bush wondering if her parents had finally come outside to look for her.

"Are you okay?" A voice rang out above her, causing her head to snap and look upwards. She let out a surprised shriek as her body jerked away from the fence and closer to the bush. Green eyes peered into his mismatched ones before traveling upwards to the riot of blond hair on his head. It was obvious it was an older boy though she had never seen him in her neighborhood before. Why was some older kid even talking to her?!

"Who are you, and what are you doing up on our fence?" Mentally she scolded herself as her voice cracked a bit. It isn't like she could control that after the cry she had been having. Suddenly the embarrassment started to creep along her face at having been caught; her cheeks faintly flushing to a soft pink.

The older boy ended up earning another scream when he launched himself from the fence and into her backyard. 'What is he doing?' The thought frantically raced through her mind as he told her to stop with her shrieking and confessed to hearing her tears. Like she could even help that, he hadn't even answered her question on who he was!

Huffing she said loudly, "Well it isn't any of your business to why I'm crying! Now get out of my yard!" With that said she crossed her arms over her chest and tried her best to imitate the glares she saw adults give each other. In the back of her mind she thought she looked completely stupid.

Choosing to ignore his rude comments she looked over the odd outfit he was wearing. She thought it looked nice, just different from what one would see teenagers wearing today. The oddity growing as she looked at the boots that encased his lower leg. Her attention jolted back to him when he mentioned doing magic tricks.' That explained his looks than if he is a magician' she thought to herself before responding. The threat probably wasn't needed not like it sounded like a good one at that.

Watching his careful movements her gaze focused on his hand as his fingers spun, where they were once empty now they held a clear crystal like orb. Thrilled and awed by it, her earlier woes were completely forgotten now as she demanded to know how the trick was done. She would love to be able to do some sort of magic trick to impress her friends at school. Maybe even for the school talent show next year! Her excitement grew when an exact copy of the first one appeared alongside the other. His response of 'Magic' was almost enough to cause her to roll her eyes. She was struck when he introduced himself to her, asking her own name. Another blush crept up her cheeks at the idea of not having introduced herself to him yet.' Not like she should of!' She thought hastily he was still someone she didn't exactly know.

"Sarah Williams." She was about to comment on his lack of a last name before he started up again about having told the truth of being able to do magic along with stopping her tears. That was obviously true, even if her tears had stopped more because of shock at him appearing like he had. His offer of friendship sounded genuine to her though it would be a bit odd to be friends with a boy, an older boy at that. Most of her friends were girls and she occasionally talked to a boy from her class. She couldn't quite read the emotions playing in his dual colored gaze but she felt herself nodding as she mumbled out 'friends' which seemed to a be a good enough confirmation to him.

Shifting on the ground the young girl was about to ask her new friend just where he lived in her neighborhood when her mother's voice faintly shouted for her from within the house. What color she had regained instantly started to fade as her face paled once more. Even more so at the idea of her catching a boy in the backyard like this! Panicking, she nearly reached out to shove him in some direction when he suddenly dropped to the ground next to her.

"Promise to meet me here again in one week. If you I will tell you all about me and how I do my magic, as long as you promise to let me know more about you." Ignoring his tone of voice for now she simply nodded her head, anything really to get him out of her yard before her mother or father found them like this. She'd have no idea how to explain this to either one of them!

"Deal!" She hissed out, peering over the bushes thanking everything in the universe that her parents hadn't appeared yet. She didn't even notice he had left until she looked back in the spot he had been crouching in. She nearly jumped out of her skin to see that he wasn't still with her. Quickly she dusted herself off and tore through the backyard and opened the door that lead into the kitchen. She guessed her nerves were still acting up as the door bounced loudly off the wall causing her to cringe.

"I'm right here!" She hollered back, annoyed when her mother walked in the room with a scolding look on her face.

"There is no need to yell, I was just in the other room.. Where have you been Sarah?" Her mother asked while her head tilted to the side as she took in her daughter's flushed state.

"Oh... You know I was just outside playing.. Just trying to distract myself and all that." An idea suddenly bloomed in her head as she looked down at her feet. Her mother talked to other moms in the neighborhood, perhaps she knew who the strange boy was. If they were to be friends she didn't understand why she had to wait a week to talk to him again, especially when she could just go to his house or invite him over formally.

"Mom... Do you know a kid around here named Jareth?" She mumbled out, looking back up at her mother's face. It became apparent by the confusion that was spreading along her features that she had no idea who that was.

"Who? No, I haven't. Why?" She asked suspiciously.

She flinched, her mind scrambling to think of something that wouldn't get herself caught. For all she knew her parents wouldn't be mad that he had been in her backyard. Probably annoyed because they had never met him or his parents. "Oh some girls on the bus were talking about him, saying he can do magic tricks and all. The mentioned he lived around here so I didn't know if you had ever met his parents or not since you talked to a lot of them." She had never really lied to her mother like this before, she didn't like it. Something in her mind though whispered to keep this meeting to herself though, for the time being.

She also didn't like the look her mother gave her, the sudden warmth in her eyes as she wiggled her eyebrows up and down. "Oh a boy you say? Why no I haven't but perhaps I could ask around. Is he cute?" She teased her daughter, ignoring the look of mortification that was spreading along her face.

"N-No! I don't know! I was just asking! Don't bother, if you haven't maybe I just heard wrong about where he lives." She sputtered out, much too aware of the flush that had most likely turned her face a beat red. "I'm going to bed." With a mutter she accepted the small kiss her mom plucked on her cheek before she rushed into the other room and up the stairs. Her father must of already of went to bed in their guest room since she didn't see him. Ever since they had started fighting her father had removed himself from the bedroom and into the guest room, though both her parents assured her it was just a temporary thing she knew it was a lie. She had friends with divorced parents and had heard them talk about it to know that is most likely where hers were heading. It bothered her, but she had spent so many nights crying about it that tonight she just wanted to pretend everything was okay for once.

After she had brushed her teeth, bathed, gotten into her pajamas, and finally climbed into her own bed did she let her mind wonder back to the boy magician named Jareth. If her mother didn't know of him he couldn't be from their part of the neighborhood. Perhaps on the bus tomorrow she could ask around to her friends if they had ever heard of him before. Sure he was older but their town wasn't that big. Everyone knew somebody. So someone had to know him after all, it isn't like he appeared here out of nowhere. With that comforting thought she reached over and turned her bedside lamp off, letting darkness enclose around her besides the sliver of moonlight that poured in. Just when she was about to go to sleep did she hear the loud voices carrying from downstairs and filter through the crack under her door. Sarah's lips trembled once as she tried to reign in her tears, already exhausted from her other crying spell. Robotically she grabbed her pillow and shoved it over her head, to muffle her parent's voices and her own sobs.

* * *

The days in the Brownwood Kingdom dragged on slowly. The same happened day in and day out. Lessons with his instructors on how to be a great king, learning all about his world, further developing his magical abilities and doing his best to appease his mother. He knew he had to stay on his best behavior if he didn't want his mother, or teachers, to contact his father about his behavior. Queen Celinette was very kind for a fae queen. Where she was kind, his father was the complete opposite. King Xaiyden was known throughout this entire realm for having an outrageous temper that no one could match. Also that his temper was connected to a very small fuse. All it would take was one or two bits of gossip about his behavior and his father would return from wherever he was doing whatever it was to beat submission and manners into him. No one knew about his father hitting him besides his mother and his father's own personal servant. His mother had been on the receiving end of that brutality more times than he cared to count, sometimes in an attempt to come to his defense. As these thoughts and memories swirled in his mind he bit down roughly on the inside of his cheek to keep his own anger in check. A brief second later he flinched as the metallic taste of his blood filled his mouth causing him to spit. At least he was outdoors when this mood had assaulted him; he didn't feel like explaining himself. Desperately Jareth tried to control the direction his thoughts were taking him, that his own anger would one day lead him to be a merciless tyrant like his father.

It had already been three weeks his time since he had last seen the human girl called Sarah, so there was but one week left before the would meet again and he could learn all he wanted about her and her world. Sure the Underground had books aplenty about humans and their habits, but he wanted to know specifically about her own. She had struck a deal with him to meet up so he held the belief that she would. Plus, he wanted to make sure that she was okay, that no one was hurting her.

Shaking his head to dislodge that thought before it could take root he stiffened as his mother seemingly appeared out of nowhere but to be at his side.

What's this, The Goblin King pacing? Tell me what bothers you your highness so that I might be of some service." Celinette teased her son in an attempt to cheer him up. She hated seeing such a look on his young face. He was still just a fledgling to her, her baby. With her gentle teasing the adult look on his face was replaced by a smirk as he reached out to give his mother a small pat on her snow white hair, much like one would give to a beloved pet.

"Now now my loyal subject, I am fine. Just kingly business troubling me, nothing that can't be solved at a later time." He half joked back with her, content with the smile his mother wore. If it had just been him and her their lives would be a thousand times happier. Struggling to keep up his good nature he gave his mother a small bow. "How are you today mother?"

"Fine, I've finished up court for today and thought I might find my favorite son to see if he would amuse his mother by escorting her to a lovely picnic." Her smile was returned by her son as he offered her his arm, allowing her to lead the way.

* * *

As night fell Jareth once more returned to his chambers, his good mood slowly fading away without his mother's presence. He loved spending time with her, even more so when no other royals or important members of the court were around to see and judge them. Plus with him being a model son right now, he was sure she wouldn't think anything of it when he vanished for a day next week. Plus this last week gave him another chance to find a way to get Sarah here. Not to stay but just to show her the goblins. He wasn't foolish enough to think he could just tell her he was from another land without proving it to her.

* * *

**A/N:** Sorry for all the notes! I promise I won't always be like this. You aren't missing much in them anyways if you decided to skip over them. It will be a while before the action picks up! I want to take time developing our two favorite characters for the time being, letting them get to know each other. Here is a special thanks to those who are following the story! YAY YOU! x]! Thanks for giving this story a chance. Also PLEASE REVIEW! As of right now Jareth is 12 and Sarah is 8. Those ages will change at vastly different times though because of the time difference of their worlds.


	3. Magic

**Disclaimer:** I own nothing what so ever from Labyrinth. I wish I owned David Bowie though ;3 LOL!

* * *

Tired green eyes steadily watched the clock in her classroom tick the minutes off. Absently the girl tapped her pencil along with the sound counting down the last few seconds of class, ignoring her teacher going on about how one month from today they would be done for the school year.

"Don't forget there will be a paper I want you to write to see if all of my English and grammar lessons have taken root in your little young minds! You have this final month to write about anything you want, may it be a story or a poem. Some of you might want to write about your plans for the summer! Extra credit goes to whoever decides to write about what they learned this year." Mrs. Pickering said slyly with the knowledge some of her students would take this opportunity to help themselves out. "It'll be due four days before we let out for the year and you'll know your grade our final day!"

With that said the bell finally rung and snapped Sarah out of whatever trance it had been holding her in. Distracted, she shoved her school items into her backpack and followed the rest of her class for the mad dash to the door. Blending into the rush she looked over as her best friend LeeAnn came over and nudged her playfully. "So daydreamer did you get any of that in class?" She teased, having noticed Sarah's lack of attention throughout the day.

"Something about a paper right? Mrs. Pickering said she wanted us to write a paper."

"Yeah, but what about?"

"Uh…"

LeeAnn smirked before she started to shake her head. "We can write about anything really. Just gotta show awf ore fuhine anglush skillz." She said sounding like she had a mouth full of marbles.

"You know she would of failed if she had heard you butcher the English language like that just now."

Both girls busted out laughing as they clambered onto the bus. LeeAnn had lived near Sarah her entire life, though she got off at the stop before her. They were best friends but for some reason unknown Sarah could not find it in herself to let her best friend know what had happened to her last week. Mostly because a part of her had started to think it was a dream. That she was so upset over her parents she had just imagined Jareth up. She was eight now! Much too grown up for imaginary friends, she thought idly to herself.

As they rolled up to LeeAnn's stop she found herself tongue tied while trying to figure out if she should. Fighting off the impulse she gave her a wave and watched her head off the bus and towards her house. Leaning out of the window, Sarah hollered out that he'd call her later on.

Arriving at her own stop she got off the bus with some other neighborhood kids and chatted with them as they each broke off towards their own house. Hesitantly she stopped outside of her own looking towards the driveway. Relief washed through her soon followed by a wave of guilt. She should be sad that neither of her parents were home to greet her and ask about her day, not happy. A small voice in the back of her mind fought with that notion saying she should be happy to not be welcomed home with parents who were screaming at each other. Shaking her head to dislodge both thoughts out of her head she pulled out her house key and let herself in.

She passed the time to herself by doing homework, leaving the paper for another day. Fixing her a small snack of cut up hotdogs and juice while she sat down to do her math. It was a few hours before she heard her front door open again; signaling one of her parents had come home. Slamming her math book shut she bounded out of the living room to see her father hanging his coat up, looking tired. It took him a few seconds to notice her.

"Hey sweet pea how was your day?" He asked, his smile not fully reaching his eyes.

"It was good, nothing too interesting happened."

"That's nice," he said in a distracted tone, "Mom won't be home tonight, she got held up at her job. Something about them traveling a few cities over to do a scene or two."

The pair of them was quiet, one knowing the truth about where her mother had gone, and the other not fully understanding what was happening.

"Oh... Okay?" She mumbled, shuffling her feet against the carpet.

"I'm going to go ahead and lay down for the night sweetheart, if you need anything just come get me."

She gave her father a small nod he did not see and watched him head up the stairs to where their rooms were. Something wasn't right but she had a horrible feeling in her gut that things between her parents were going to start heading downhill for the pair of them soon. Looking outside she went ahead and made her way into the backyard to wait behind the bushes for Jareth to appear, if he did. It's not like she had anything better to do.

* * *

There was no way he was going to be late. For the past month he had been on his best behavior, listening in court to the seemingly pointless gossip the elders went on about. Went to all his blasted lessons, though his own private ones were steadily putting him ahead of what his teachers were teaching him at this point. No matter how much he had studied though he still didn't find the answer he was looking for when it came to taking Sarah with him to his own world.

Having reached for the forest he muttered the spell out in a rush so that he vanished while still at a run. At a run he stumbled into the mortal's forest before righting himself. He was perhaps an hour or two early but that suited him just fine. Following the same route as before he arrived at her house. Wherever she lived in the human world it was nothing like his books. There hardly ever seemed to be someone out, and as far has he had seen they weren't running around burning each other at the stakes anymore.

Without a single care he leapt over the fence, nearly landing on the small girl who waited there for him. Earning a surprised yelp from her lips much like the first time they had met.

"Jareth!" She breathed out excitedly, a small part of her relieved that she had not imaged the boy up. With an imagination like she possessed you could never be too sure. Her previous misery was wiped clean, replaced with a hyper nervousness instead. "You came!"

The prince was more pleased than one should be at her exclamation of him actually coming to see her. Why wouldn't he after he had promised he would. Settling down next to her, he lounged out lazily as best as he could in the limited space. "Of course I came; I told you I would Sarah." He drawled out, trying his best to mask the flicker of happiness in him. "Plus you promised to tell me more about your life in exchange for more magic tricks and how I do them."

The dark haired girl nodded her head once, not particularly thrilled with the idea of having to tell him all about herself. Not that she normally would have minded but with how her life was taking this unknown turn with her parents, it was something she felt like she needed to keep bottled up. Sorting through her thoughts she took in his appearance once more, his ruffled poets shirt looking out of place in this day of age. The tight tan pants and knee high buckled boots also made reappearance on his person as well.

"Well, would you like to walk around while we talk so we aren't just stuck sitting here?" If she was going to be doing a lot of the talking she'd at least like to be able to move around. With his nod of agreement she stood up and dusted herself off before eyeing the fence. She didn't want to chance walking around to the front of her house. "Uh…"

A smirk graced Jareth's lips as he watched her stare at the fence, he could almost see the wheels turning in her head as she tried to figure out how to get herself over it. Shaking his head he hopped to the top of the fence with as much agility as a cat would, offering his hand down to her. "I got you."

She only hesitated for a moment before she grasped a hold of his hand to have herself yanked and tossed over the other side. Sarah was proud of herself for not having screamed when she was dropped to the ground.

"Oww.. You couldn't have set me down a little bit more gently?" She scowled upwards at the laughing wild haired boy as he, much more gracefully; fell to the other side of the fence to help her up.

"You're fine, how about I show you the forest? I'll show you my tricks there."

She took her lower lip in her mouth while she thought it over. The forest? It wasn't that far from her house, but still it was going to be getting late soon. Could this be a trap? Looking him over again, the message of never going with strangers had been pushed into her mind ever since she could understand what it meant. But he was a kid, sort of, like herself. Plus she just had the feeling of trust for him already. Giving a small nod she followed side by side with him towards the forest.

* * *

"So I'm in the third grade, I'm a year ahead though of other kids my age. But I'm about to go into the fourth grade here soon." For the past ten minutes she had been rambling about anything and everything she could think about that he would be interested in. All of it seemed horribly boring to her, her life, but he seemed interested. It was almost like her life was completely different from anyone else's he had ever met. "Summer break is just a month away then I don't have to go to school for two and a half months!"

All the while why she had been talking Jareth found himself lost in the way she spoke. Her hands flying upwards to express her emotions sometimes, or her features wrinkling when she talked about something she didn't like. If her life was the average human one, the books in his library sorely needed updating. Nothing about catching witches and burning them, or other magical creatures at that. The few times he had mentioned anything magical she just gave him a questioning look like she didn't understand.

"Ah, I wish I got a break from school. I'm forced to study pretty much every day besides a few that I get off." He grumbled.

"So you're home schooled?" She asked curiously, that would explain why no one knew him around here.

"I guess you could say that." Jareth mumbled before he felt the small pull of the magic of his world. They had been walking around the forest for a while now, and now that they were in his spot it would be easier to show her all about his magic. "I guess it's my turn to keep up my side of the bargain?" He teased, reaching downwards to capture a curl of hers, giving it a gentle tug.

Yes! This was what she had been waiting for to see how the magic was done. Grumbling she swatted at his hand until he released her hair, it almost tempted her to reach upwards and try to grab some of his.

Much like the last time she watched as his long fingers spun so that the little sphere appeared in his fingers once again. On top of that he had three more appear this time so that he juggled them easily with his hand.

"Well? How did you do it?" She crossed her arms in front of her giving him a sour look.

"Magic! I mean… Real magic, I'm magical." He stuttered out, alarmed by the look she was directing at him. This had gone over a lot better in his head.

"Haha very funny. Just having me on are you? If you had no intention of showing me you-you shouldn't have dragged me out here to the middle of nowhere!" A red flush crept up into her face hinting to her embarrassment of the situation. Quickly, the young girl turned her back on him intending to storm off and find her way home.

Shocked, he reached out and grasped her shoulder to turn her around to face him once more.

"I'm not lying!" His own face started to heat up in a mixture of emotions. "See!?"

With his free hand that had been waving the sphere he moved and shoved it under her nose so that she was forced to look into it. In it, a small scene was playing out of their first time meeting in her backyard. His mismatched eyes watched hers to see the confusion turning to shock and the shock turning to.. Fear? As soon as he saw the emotion bloom across her face did her hands reach up to swat the orb frantically away from her line of vision.

"W-What? That.. That was us! Last week! How'd you do that?" In her sputtering she had taken a few steps back from him, keeping her arms raised up so that he wouldn't come closer to her. This entire plan of his was backfiring in the worst possible way. She was supposed to have been impressed with it! Not frightened.

"I told you, I'm magic! I'm not going to hurt you, stop acting like that." He snapped out, aggravated now with himself. Sighing, he leaned against a tree to watch her stop when there was a good distance between the pair of them.

"Well. I didn't think you meant real magic! It's.. It's.. Bonkers!" She yelled out at him, cringing in her use of the word. Her eyes zeroing in on him as his scowl broke into a smile.

"Bonkers?"

"Yes.. Bonkers?" Saying it again caused her own frown to flicker for a moment. Her eyes looking back at the orb he still held. "How are you magical?" Her curiosity, like most kids was naturally getting the better of her.

"I'll tell you that next week, which is if you are in agreement to meet me again?" It was perfect. He could see the curiosity eating away at the fear now. If he told her now how he was 'magical' she could dismiss him and not bother with him anymore. If he dragged it out until next week, then he'd get to see her again.

It was obvious she had figured out the same thing and was now debating over it. After a few minutes of aching silence she nodded her head.

"Fine, next week. Now help me get home."

Tilting his head so it looked like he was looking at his feet, he did his best to hide the grin that spread along his features as he walked next to her to lead the way.

* * *

Once home, she was half pleased and half upset to see that her father had not missed her presence. So much for protection. Once in bed, it took her much longer than it normally would for her to fall asleep. Her arms moving to rub each other to get rid of the goosebumps she had kept on herself since seeing Jareth's little display of real magic. She'd find out why or how he was magical, and be done with him. But that thought of casting him aside didn't sit well in her stomach. Sighing, she rolled over to stare out of her window.

* * *

**A/N: **Sorry it took me a while to update, this chapter was pretty hard to get out because I've been feeling a bit under the weather.


	4. Goblins

**A/N: **So happy to have finally gotten some reviews! A few have messaged me about my hospital stay and luckily I am hoping to be out by October, thanks for your concern! Als thanks to all the new follows and favorites :] I hope I don't disappoint. Well, enough with all my rambling and back to the story!

**Disclaimer:** Don't own Labyrinth, blah blah blah. It makes me sad to do this each chapter D:!

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"Your son is doing excellent in his studies these days your majesty. A few times I have thought that perhaps it was someone else posing as him." The ancient elf chuckled softly as his milky colored eyes looked directly at the queen. "I should think by the new year he will be capable of his own independent studies if we keep up the pace we are currently going. I hope that pleases you?" Adieer knew it did, he just wanted to hear it confirmed. He knew how the Fae queen worried constantly about her only child, even more when the prince skipped out on his lessons. As for himself he didn't mind the trek from the elf kingdom over to the fae one, plus he stayed for weeks, at a time. The pay from the king made this a bit more comfortable too.

"Yes it does Adieer! How I have worried over him for the past couple of years. Maybe my son is finally taking his future role as king seriously." She sighed softly as a pleased expression appeared on her face.

It almost made Adieer not want to tell her highness the next bit of news he had. It was his duty to let her know at least. "I am worried however because I have noticed that he has taken up the task of looking up transporting spells, for what I am not sure. As far as I've gathered none of them have been the right one. Which means whatever he is trying to transport must be _alive_." He let the last sentence linger in the air around them for a moment before continuing. "I just wished to let you know about it, maybe you could figure out what he is up to. Then again I am perhaps just an old elf worrying for naught!" Ignoring the fact that a frown had now replaced her smile he bowed to her before taking his leave.

_Transporting spells!?_ He had no need of those yet not until he was much older and a lot more mature. Not until he stopped abusing his powers. Queen Celinette let her thoughts gather up as she desperately tried to figure out what he was up to. It would do no good to ask because knowing her son he would either lie or change topics. He hadn't even told her that he himself had learned to transport himself! That was a feat she had been proud of; it brought him one step closer to him learning his animal form. All the royals had one; all the forms were always bird related. Her own being an ordinary white dove which she had learned once she married Jareth's father, only those directly descendant of the Olden Fae royals were birds of prey. Her husband's being a hawk, which meant Jareth's would be something along those lines as well. She'd have to find him soon and find out what he was up to. She loved him with all her heart and her entire being, there was no way she would let him get in trouble and have the wrath of his father come upon him.

* * *

No one knew how the chickens originally got into the goblin kingdom. It was thought that a long forgotten king had taken them from the mortal world as pets. Taking enough that they could rise in population throughout the years. Another story was that a king had feared the birds and o to torment him goblins had snuck over to the human world and taken them one at a time to let loose in his castle. Either way, whatever had happened, it had resulted in hundreds of chickens always running around the goblin kingdom at any given time. Jareth, ignoring the mob of goblins that were following him, were aiming kicks at the chickens to end them flying out ahead of him. He couldn't even find amusement as the goblins copied his actions, laughing shrilly. He was due to see Sarah tomorrow and still had not figured out how to get her to the Underground to prove he was who he said he was. Having pretty much abandoned that plan he was trying to think of new ways of proving himself. Perhaps more advanced magic? He shook his head, unable to push back the idea of bringing her here, and the fun they would have! Plus if she was here they could spend more than just an hour or two at a time. She could stay here for half a day and go unmissed in her world!

"Lookie at him! Princey kicked that one super far!" A goblin cackled behind him as the rest of them hollered their approval.

"Oh shut it! I'm trying to figure something out." He grunted at them, rolling his eyes.

"We help princey! We can help!"

"I highly doubt that." Jareth rolled his eyes as he punted another chicken, feathers flying. _Wait._

"You all brought the chickens over, or well. One of you many centuries ago did. Could you say... If you wanted to. Go get more?" He spun around to look at the massive following he had gathered while walking around the castle.

One of the larger goblins nodded his head eagerly, shoving smaller ones out of his way. "Oh yes we could! Jabbik thinks he would be an excellent chicken catcher!" Before he could go on another goblin pushed his way to the front.

"We used to catch babies in old days! We don't have a king no more so no more babies!"

Jareth's eyes lit up at this announcement, it was perfect. "So hey, who would want to come with _me _to the humans world tomorrow to help me bring back a girl?"

For the first time in his memory the goblins all went deathly silent though that only lasted for a few seconds before they all started bellowing on which he should take, each voice drowning out the other. He almost plugged his ears up at the sound.

'Quiet! Shut your mouths! I need to bring a girl here but you can't keep her. She has to be returned to her world!"

Most of the goblins were bothered by that, shouting protests of how they wanted to keep the girl that no one played with them anymore.

"Listen! If she likes it here, we can bring her back! So you must be on your best behavior for her!" He was a bit worried at the idea of one of them trying to kick at her to see how much distance she would get. He needed to get them to treat her, well like himself! "She is a princess in her world! Royal like me! If she likes you she could be your queen and I could be your king!"

This declaration seemed to stun them too, before the lot of them scampered over to him yelling as loudly as possible how this was an excellent idea. Nothing would make them happier to be good for their new queen. They had never had a queen before and instantly they started to ask what queens liked. Jareth believed them on that comment. They could barely keep a king, and he had never heard of them having a queen. Most females stayed away from the desolate land, plus The Bog of Eternal Stench was too close by which would send even his mother into a fit.

Calming them down, he finally managed to pick a goblin to go with him tomorrow to get Sarah. Brisiggle seemed a bit more calm then the rest of his kind, and didn't look too alarming either. With promises of coming back tomorrow with their queen he told Brisiggle about ten times where and when to meet him. As he transported home, he couldn't help but think maybe he should have threatened him with the bog for good measure.

* * *

Celinette had decided instead of directly asking her son what he was up to, to instead have him followed. Yes it was sneaky, but she would be foolish to ask him first. In doing that it would set him on a mental alert that she was taking notice of what he was doing in his spare time. If what he was doing was harmless she would leave him to it, if it wasn't than it was up to her to put a stop to it. Tugging her midnight blue cloak closer to her petite frame she made her way down to the grounds of the castle to where one of the empire's guards were stationed. He was known throughout the Underground for his stealth and intelligence. Darker beings would tell you that he was the last creature that you would want as an enemy.

The low seated animal stood up and at attention as his queen appeared before him.

"I have a request of you Janshai, a mission. I want to know what my son is up to on his free days. This is to stay between us; I will not have the king alerted to what is going on. Understand?"

"Yes your highness." The voice growled out softly.

"Follow him tomorrow, and alert me to what he does. _You must not be seen!_ You shall be rewarded for your time of course, and I trust you to watch out for him and to keep him from harm." The last part was added just in case Jareth did manage to find himself in trouble. With a nod in agreement from Janshai she turned and fled back into the castle.

Janshai on the other hand sat back on his haunches waiting for morning to come. He had the appearance of a fossa, but his legs curved to resemble the talons of a predatory bird, a set of matching brown wings folded on his back. His origins were unknown only that he had been a guard here for as long as anyone could remember. As much as he loved his queen, his first loyalty laid with the king; no matter how cruel he could be. With a sigh, his black gaze settled to watch the area around him.

* * *

A/N: Sorry for the short chapter this time! I wanted to wait and have the meeting and everything next chapter. Don't hate me! I'll try to get started on it soon and have it up within the next couple of days. I have a funny feeling we are going to meet Jareth's father soon too in a few chapters!


	5. Lets Go!

**Disclaimer:** I have bought the rights to Labyrinth. I'm fibbing; I don't own any of it, just writing this for fun!

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Janshai was a bit furious at the young prince right about now. All morning he had tracked his movements, even following him into that destructive goblin kingdom to watch him chat with a few of the foul beasts. Up until that point it seemed like his queen was just paranoid about her son off and doing things that would get him in trouble. All of the fae knew of Jareth's odd fascination with the goblins so it wasn't that big of a deal to catch him with them. One of the goblins had broken off from the pack though and headed out to the forest where Jareth soon followed after him.

That was immediately suspicious though. Janshai had been forced to wait almost a full minute before he could slink out from his hiding spot and go unseen by the little beast towards the forest. There it was easy to catch the prince's scent and follow after him. Soon the scent mixed with the foul odor of the goblins which made his job worse but easier to follow them.

Well, up until the scents vanished in the middle of nowhere. Momentarily the cat like guard sat on his haunches, stunned. Getting up he circled the spot and even branched off into different directions to make sure he hadn't missed them suddenly changing directions. His confusion was slowly creeping into rage. Black eyes glazing over he went back to the original spot where the scent vanished to peer upwards in the trees to make sure the little snot wasn't up there hiding, maybe figuring out he had been followed. Not spying the riot of blond hair he unfolded his wings and lifted off to settle in the trees. His queen and his king at that matter; would be very interested to know that their son was using magic to vanish from their realm. He'd sit here and wait all bloody day if he had to for him and the goblin, it wouldn't be that hard to get a sniff in and find out exactly where they had been.

As it would turn out he wouldn't have too long to wait after all, and he wouldn't even have to leave his perch to figure out exactly what their young prince was up to these days.

* * *

She was pleased with herself; once more her green eyes looked down at her finished paper that had the bright red A+ marked on it. What was even better was the little note her teacher had written on it.

_A beautiful story Sarah! Have you ever thought to write more?_

She had found that she enjoyed writing her little end of the year paper. A faint blush started to spread along her cheeks as she realized there were more than a few reasons she did enjoy it so much.

It had been about a young girl in a village who was being raised by a storyteller, and at night she would wish upon a star like in the fairy tales she had heard from him countless times. One night her wishes came true and a magical boy with a wild mane of hair leapt from the forest behind her small cottage where he befriended her and used magic tricks to gain her trust. It had branched off from there of the girl and boy staying friends no matter what.

She wanted to laugh at herself but found out she couldn't, even though she did think that she was being horribly silly right now.

Shaking her head, she wondered out into the hallway where her father and mother stood getting dressed to go out. She liked to call them pretend dates, because it was obvious they were trying very hard to pretend everything was okay for her.

"Sweetheart we will only be a few hours, Mrs. McClain is already here and in the kitchen fixing you supper. Behave for her."

Sarah blinked as she looked up into her mother's forced smile, turning her head to look at her father's own smile. At least his didn't look like it was trying to slide off his face. Kneeling down he placed a small kiss on the top of her head.

"Love you sweetie, see you in a bit. Maybe you can pack some while we're out?"

Nodding her head dully watched the pair of them leave through the door. At least they waited until it was shut before they started to argue about where to go eat.

As for packing, she was almost done anyways. She and her father were going to Scotland to visit his parents. Her father had told her that they hadn't seen her since she was just a baby, and the both of them were long overdue for a visit. Her mom was supposed to have gone but she had fought and argued until she had won her way to remain behind so that she could star in the play out of town she had been casted for. Ever since her dad had agreed that her mom didn't have to go he seemed a lot happier about the trip at least. She supposed three months without having to argue would cheer anyone up. Her entire summer over there, it was still a lot to take in.

"Sarah! Come now I've fixed you some chicken Alfredo to munch on! Be a good girl and come eat!" Sarah almost winced as her neighbors shrill voice boomed throughout the house. For someone so old she sure had a set of lungs on her.

Abandoning her thoughts for the moment she bounded into the kitchen and sat at the table as she was served the food.

"Thanks Mrs. McClain, it looks great!" She offered a smile as she scooped some up on her fork and shoveled it into her mouth.

"That it is dearie, I've already eaten so I'm just going to go and sit in the living room and watch the television. Gotta rest these old bones of mine. When you finish up you can join me!" The older woman smiled at her before reaching down and patting the top of her head.

She wolfed her food down, eager to head out and meet Jareth. He had a lot of explaining to do after all. Plus she had to tell him about her summer vacation. Would he be able to visit her in Scotland? She hoped so. Draining her glass of apple juice she picked her dishes up and sat them in the sink. Wiping her hands she walked to the door and peered around the frame and into the living room.

Sure enough her elderly neighbor was reclined on the couch with her head lulled to the side, quiet snores being drowned out by the soap drama that was playing on the television. Mentally she fought with herself trying to figure out if she should wake her up and ask to go play outside. But she'd come and look for her! If she didn't though and she woke up on her own she'd come looking for her.

Before she had time to figure out what she wanted to do a soft sound came out from behind her.

_Tap tap tap_

Stiffening she slowly turned her head to look over her shoulder, horrified to see Jareth standing there with a lopsided grin on his face peering through the large kitchen window that decorated the back wall. She nearly tripped and crashed into the kitchen table in an attempt to get to him. Face hot she reached the kitchen door and slid out of it, meeting up with him on the side.

"Oh! You! You're lucky I didn't wake up Mrs. McClain! Oh I hope she doesn't wake up while I'm out here! She'll freak!"

The entire time she had been rambling Jareth just leaned against her house, watching her with a bemused expression.

"I'm sure you'll be fine, now come on we're wasting time. I have something, or well someone I want you to meet back in the forest."

Not giving her time to protest he grabbed her hand and proceeded to tug her out of the yard.

* * *

"Okay, we're almost there. Now when you meet him you must promise not to scream."

Jareth hadn't bothered to warn her that who she would be meeting is a goblin. He didn't bother waiting for an answer either. Pulling her a little further he stood next to her as he called out for Brisiggle to come out.

Sarah's scream was cut off by his hand covering her mouth.

It hadn't been the most grand of entrances, Brisiggle tripping over his own feet and crashing into the ground. He didn't even bother to get up since Sarah's scream had seemed to terrify him so he just laid there staring at the pair of them. His expression and Sarah's was more than enough to make the young prince start laughing.

"Calm down Sarah it's just a _goblin. _A good friend of mine who is going to help me with something if you are okay with it. Are you done screaming?" He asked, still amused.

He was pleased to see her nod her head. Removing his hand he walked off from her to help aid Brisiggle who had finally managed to get up.

He turned around smiling at Sarah, pleased with himself for pulling this off, but his smile quickly turned into a frown.

"Are you okay?"

Mutely she nodded her head a fraction.

"Look I-I couldn't think of a way of telling you how or why I'm magical. I mean, I'm magical all together. I'm a fae. Do you know what that is? I'm not from here I'm from a whole other place entirely. I wanted to show you- take you there. Brisiggle can help since I can't technically do it on my own yet. If you don't want to you don't have to. I just thought..." He let his sentence trail off; it took a lot to get him rambling like that. Mortified that he had done that, and that her expression hadn't changed his own face started to heat up.

Finally she started speaking, her eyes not on Jareth but the goblin.

"H-He isn't going to hurt me though is he? To where you are from? Where are you from and how am I supposed to get there?"

In a move that surprised both Jareth and the goblin Sarah stepped a bit closer to the other pair, still looking at Brisiggle.

"I-I'm Sarah by the way, I'm sorry for screaming." She mumbled.

"Huh? Oh it's alright missy! I ain't never seen a human before!"

Satisfied, Jareth moved and stepped back over to Sarah to explain more.

"Goblins have the ability to bring humans over to our world usually when they are wished away. Since they currently do not have a king they've lost the ability to do it. But with my magic combined with his it will be more that easy to do it. You've shown me a little of your world so I wish to show you mine. Plus we could spend hours together and it will only be minutes in your own. "

He offered the best smile he could to her, watching as she watched him back. It was a lot to take in, but what an adventure they could have in his own world. Plus the idea that they could spend hours together appealed to him, than the measly amount of time they usually spent together in hers.

"If you are sure i-it's safe, I will."

Thrilled with this answer as hesitant as it was he grasped at it.

"Perfect, just take Brisiggle's hand there, just like that." He took Sarah's hand and cupped it into the goblin's. Taking the other hand of each of them into his own he readied the trio of them. "Don't panic Sarah we'll do all the work, just don't let go of either of us." He muttered, nodding at Brisiggle to let him know he was ready.

Letting his magic entwine with the Goblin's a faint glow seemed to come off of Sarah's skin as the seconds ticked by. Gently letting his magic guide him, knowing that Brisiggle's would do the same for him they both stepped together taking Sarah with them.

* * *

She agreed to go just because this would be the last time she got to see him, probably, for three months. Spending more than an hour together would be nice for once. Holding the hands of both of them, she probably squeezed a bit too tight in her fear. Plus the little itch covering her skin threatened to have her pull her hands out of their grasp to scratch at it. As the pair of them tugged softly on her hand she moved and stepped with them, gasping as the forest dissolved around her. Her mind was wiped clean of thoughts as the trees looked to melt around the pair of them before coming back into existence around them. It had felt like a lifetime but in reality it was just a second. Though it still looked a bit like the forest they had been in at her home she could tell whatever they had been attempting to do had worked by the look of delight that had spread along Jareth's face.

Releasing the goblin he almost jumped at Sarah to hug her in his happiness, causing her face to catch fire.

"IT WORKED! I knew it would, my magic never fails me when I need it. You did awesome!" He said happily, slapping the goblin on the back who in return gave him a brilliant grin.

Released from the hug she looked around, though it still looked like home the odd feeling was settling on her that it wasn't. It completely stunned her.

"Sarah come on! We're going to the goblin kingdom today. When we visit again next time we'll explore other regions. Maybe when my mother is out I'll figure out a way to get you into the castle to see where I live."

His mouth suddenly shut, his eyes looking at her worriedly.

She had missed the slip up though about the castle still looking around, plus she was feeling guilty for not mentioning her trip to him yet.

Offering her hand to him so that he could lead the way, the three of them headed off from the forest and towards the goblins. Looking over her shoulder Sarah still felt an itch over her body but it came now from the feeling that they were being watched. She couldn't _see_ anyone though, and she dismissed the feeling to being paranoid and for the fact that she was in an entirely different land at this point. Turning back to Jareth and smiling the trio went onwards unaware of the small figure up in the sky that followed slowly after them.

* * *

A/N: Hey everyone! It's felt like forever since I posted. The site has been acting a little wonky for me and I haven't been able to get on! A good friend of mine on here suggested that I do warn you all that this story won't have a happy ending. It is a prequel after all! I am toying with the idea of doing a sequel though that would give everyone the happy ending they are looking for. Hope that doesn't deter anyone from sticking with me! Also sorry to leave it hanging like that because I planned to have had the entire meeting in this chapter. Something came up medical wise that has caused me to have to put the rest of this on hold for another chapter. Hopefully I'll get it up soon, thanks again for all the kind words and follows!


	6. Troubles

**Disclaimer: Not mine.**

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The trio spent the day together running around like mad and playing a lot of human games that Sarah knew. Brisiggle was more than pleased to be included in their playtime madness; Jareth had felt it was only right to include him since he had helped him bring her here. After playing countless games of tag, hide and go seek, and Simon says Jareth finally took Sarah down to the Goblin Kingdom so that she could meet the rest of them. As they walked he spoke quietly since Brisiggle was in front of them band marching the pair along the way.

"I've told the goblins that since I am their king, unofficially of course, that I am bringing them a queen which... I was hoping that you would be okay to play that role."

He was mortified to find a faint flush creeping along his cheeks while he told her of what he had done. He had no right to be embarrassed though, right? Desperately he glanced over and searched her face for any sign of disgust, or any negative emotion for that matter. Instead all he saw was a cautiously blank face with those eyes that were lit up.

"Y-You are wanting me to be your queen then? Queen of Goblins?"

Her voice shook softly as she asked, and at least she didn't sound appalled by the idea which was enough to give him hope. So he quickly nodded his head and gathered his courage back up to put on his brave front.

"Well yes I do, you shall be my queen and together we will rule over the goblins. Though they will probably aggravate you, but I promise they are more of a danger to themselves."

He was pleased to see a small smile on her lips just before she nodded her head and agreed.

"I-I'd love to be the queen then even if it's just pretend."

He watched, amused to see a blush spreading wildly along her face this time. It was enough to snap his cocky attitude back into place. He had already come to accept the fact that he might harbor the tiniest of tiny crushes on the human which would explain his obsession with her at this point. For all the knowledge he held though at his young age he could not figure out a way to see if she felt the same. Plus she was younger than him still, and since he had gotten over the major bump in bringing her here, he'd have plenty of time to spend with her now instead of her measly earth hour.

Watching her out of the corner of his eye he casually brought his hand up and grabbed her own to swing them lightly back and forth; pleased to see her blush return in full force.

"They'll be very pleased you know the goblins. A kingdom loves their king, but the subjects will always love and adore their queen. So they'll probably listen to you better anyways."

He finished off with a mock sigh, thrilled to hear her laugh at his dramatics.

"Jareth hush, I bet they listen to you just fine. They couldn't have been all that happy until you showed up from all the things you've said today about them. I bet they are happy to know someone cares for them."

Nodding his head in silent agreement he used his free hand to point over the ridge of where they were walking.

"We're almost there now, something you will like about being their queen is you need to know absolutely nothing about being one. They don't look for sophistication or manners seeing as they have none."

Both of them laughed at that just as Squiggle bounded back over to them to take Sarah's small hand into his large one and tug the both of them.

"Come Sarah! Or do I call you Queenie now? We are close! I can't wait for the others to see whose I is friends with!"

Smiling the trio took off and replaced their walk with a run so that they might reach the Goblin Kingdom in good time.

* * *

Janshai was horrified, angry, and slightly amused at what scene was unfolding below him. Not only had the young prince managed to break nearly a dozen rules but his current trek was leading the little group to where those filthy idiotic goblins lived in their own little slice of chaos. Their destination only bothered him just because there were so many of those beasts there that finding and following the prince would become just a bit harder.

His main concern though was the girl, the human girl that the prince had brought out of her world and into theirs. What in the Underground was he supposed to do about that?! He already knew the queen was going to be upset and he almost shied away from the idea of telling the king. The king's rage at his son and wife would be massive and both would be punished greatly. Locking his jaw up he did his best to squash the little bit of pity that had started to gather up in himself. If he didn't love his queen so much this wouldn't be hard to do. He knew how deep the kings rage went, all of the guard did.

The human girl, she was just a child. He had never been involved of the affairs of children, which bothered him too to get such an innocent into trouble. His rage at the prince flared up, his careless actions getting others into trouble.

Blending into the shadows he slunk along the twisted and gnarled trees keeping pace with the others whose running had finally slowed down as they reached the outer boarder of the Goblin City. Lost in his thoughts, he froze for a microsecond as the human girl stared right at him. He knew she couldn't see him but that didn't stop his black eyes looking into her rich green ones as they stared blindly back.

Sliding further into the shadows he continued to stare at her even after she had looked away to laugh at something the prince had said to her. Even though he could no longer see her eyes the memory of them danced across his mind and eyes. So green and bright the curiosity at the forefront but fear lingered in her gaze most likely caused by him. He could tell from the moment she appeared in the forest she had felt something watching her and it seemed now the feeling was still there. He'd be more careful and greaten the distance between them. Hopefully this adventure would end soon, and if the prince had any common sense in that empty head of his he would take the girl back to her world instead of trying to keep her here. When the king finds out, his rage wouldn't be held back from a little human girl. He'd probably kill her just to teach his son a lesson. His tail flicked anxiously as his ears perked forward so that he could continue to follow, ready to take flight when it was needed. All the while he couldn't push the image of the human's eyes out of his mind.

* * *

Jareth had been right about the goblins, but she had figured that out from talking to Brisiggle a few times. She had thought him a bit wild then but now he looked completely tame compared to the hoard of goblins that had surrounded her and Jareth. He had created quiet the uproar amongst the goblins when he announced he had finally brought their queen. Goblins of every shape and size had descended upon them trying to get near enough to their queen to shout how happy they were to have her, if she enjoyed kicking chickens like they did, and why she was so small. Sarah didn't know whether to laugh or scream. Jareth was of course hollering for the lot of them to shut it, threatening death to all but that just seemed to make them all the happier, their questions just getting louder. She had finally had enough.

"Hey… HEY QUITE IT DOWN ALL OF YOU!"

She nearly screamed the command out, her child voice taking on a tone of an adult almost. It was enough to shock the goblins into obedience for the time being. All of them slack jawed as they stared at her, waiting. She took this as a cue to continue on, her heart pounding in her chest she wet her lips to go on.

"T-Thank you! That was a very nice welcome for your new queen. I'm so happy to meet you all. I don't mind answering a few questions but you must raise your hand up in the air!"

She raised her own up in the air to show them what she was talking about. It felt a little odd, like she was a teacher and this her large and wild class.

"If I point to you only then can you ask your question and I will love to answer it."

She finished off in a light squeak as nearly every hand went up at the same time. Looking over at Jareth she frowned at the outrageously huge grin he wore on his face. It didn't look like he'd be any help. Sighing she looked back at the goblins and pointed to the one who was closest to her. He was smaller than most of the others and currently was waving a squawking chicken.

"Queenie! I'm wondering if you like kicking chickens like king does!"

Eyes wide she looked out the corner of them to Jareth who was scowling at the little goblin now that was enough to make her laugh.

"I can't say that I've ever kicked a chicken, doesn't it hurt them?"

The goblin shrugged before tossing his chicken down and aiming a kick at it to send it launching into the crowd where the others shouted happily. Relief spread through her as half the hands went down, it seemed most of them was worried about chicken games. She pointed to another goblin that jumped up and down at being picked.

"I was picked! Me! I want to know what your real name is, mine is Figgy!"

"It's very nice to meet you Figgy, My name is Sarah."

She beamed at the look of joy on Figgy's face as he was introduced personally to the queen. Clearing her throat she pointed at another only to have it backfire on her. The goblin standing next to him thinking that he had been called on suddenly got in a fight. Both pairs launched at each other and started fighting and rolling around on the ground. Cheers went up around them as the goblins closer to that action momentarily lost interest in her. This time she took care to point to a girl goblin that stood off by herself some.

"Will queenie be staying with us? King doesn't he comes and goes."

Sarah chewed on her lower lip at this question; the little goblin seemed genuinely upset at the idea that Jareth didn't live here. Plus the fighting had stopped and all the goblins were watching her now, waiting for an answer. For the first time that day she thought of her mother and her acting skills. She liked acting too, just not as much. So she summoned that part of her and told a partial truth.

"I would love to stay here with all of you all of the time. I can't right now though. See, where I'm from I have a job as a secret finder. I have to go on many different missions to find out all kinds of information. It causes me to stay gone for long periods of time. Now that I have you all for subjects now, you can know that I'll always come back to be your queen. Then one day when I don't have my missions to go on anymore I can come back and stay with you!"

She smiled at them, pleased to see most were nodding their heads in agreement. Others looked so amazed to have a queen that goes on secret missions and they instantly started shouting to ask if they could help which caused her to realize something.

"Just know that you can't come to help me! If you were to come into my world it would mess up my missions. If it didn't I would love to have you all come and visit me."

Looks of disappointment spread through the crowd so she did her best to keep the relief from showing on her face. With her speech done she finally took a chance to look over at Jareth who was wearing a disbelieving look on his features. For some reason the expression made his hair look all the wilder and she had to cover her mouth with her hand to keep from laughing.

Jareth stepped forward then and aimed a well-placed kick to a chicken so it launched over the crowd, having most of them give chase to it. It was a very odd way to end things. Watching the group disperse around her she felt the odd feeling from earlier in the woods, and again when they had been walking up to the kingdom. She felt like someone was watching though as far as she could tell no one really was. Glancing around she rubbed the back of her neck trying to rid herself of the feeling. Ignoring it she looked at Jareth he smiled at her giving a wink.

"Well played! That'll keep the lot of them happy for the time being. Plus that helps with them wanting to go into your world to steal babies. I don't think they will as long as they think you are doing your missions. Saves me a headache at least."

She rolled her eyes, not sure what else she could do. The day's events crashed on her as she realized she had yet to tell Jareth about the three month vacation she would be going on to Scotland.

"Ready to go home? That dust should be wearing off that lady who was with you."

Her eyebrows flew upwards.

"W-What? You made her fall asleep that quickly?!"

"Of course, you didn't want her waking up while you were gone. I figured it was the best thing to do."

"Will she be okay? Are you sure it won't hurt her? I mean she is older!"

Jareth huffed, rolling his eyes.

"Sarah she is going to be fine. She'll wake up having had a splendid nap and you with a great adventure until we see each other again in a week."

There it was an opening to tell him they wouldn't be seeing each other. Biting her lip she looked over at him again as they headed out of the goblin kingdom. At some point Brisiggle had found them and was following behind them rubbing his elbow on a garish helmet he had been wearing.

"I-I don't know if I can see you again, for a while that is."

Jareth halted his step, his foot frozen a few inches up in the air.

"What?"

Her face heated up as she desperately tried to explain herself.

"It's summer vacation for me now; f-father is taking me to Scotland to see my grandparents. I won't be home and you always seem to go through the forest near my house to get to me. So I just thought with me going across the ocean and the fact that I'll be thousands of miles from my home you couldn't be able to visit me. I won't be gone for too long, just three months and I'll be home again!"

It spilled out, and nervously she picked at her top watching as a range of emotions played out across his face. Anger, sadness, and finally a small flare of loneliness in his eyes before they went calmly blank.

"Oh… Okay, well three months. Yeah."

Hurt flared up in her own face as she crossed her arms over her front, taking a step to the side away from him.

"You don't have to be like that. It's not like I have any choice in the matter after all."

She snapped out at him, glancing upwards at the sky. What kind of bird was that all the way up there? It looked like a large freckle on a cloud. Her attempt in distracting herself failed when Jareth spoke.

"I know that, but you could have told me this earlier instead of just dropping it on me all last minute like this. You don't even know how long three months are for me."

She wasn't sure why she was getting as mad as she was, but it was happening out of hurt and confused feelings.

"It'll be a long time for me too, but if you are going to be acting like this then… Then I'm glad to be going away."

As soon as she said it she regretted it. She didn't even have to look at Jareth to know what he was feeling. His emotions, his anger was rolling off of him in waves.

"Really now? I guess it's good that you are leaving, I was tiring of playing with a little girl anyways."

Tears blurred her vision as he said it, and even though she knew he was lying it still hurt. She responded by trying to hurt him back.

"Well good, I'm tired of playing with an arrogant little boy. I don't need you to walk me home you can just stay here. I could care less if I ever see you again."

Her shouting was enough to freeze him and she took that moment to run back a few steps where Brisiggle stood in shock as well. Grabbing his hand she dragged him with her and headed along the path that would take them back to the forest. Stupid Jareth. She thought viciously, her own hurt radiating off her. She finally stopped dragging the goblin when he seemed to gather his thoughts and walked on his own with her though hesitantly. She turned her head to the side so that her brown hair was pushed away from her face so that she could glance over her shoulder. He still stood there frozen in place, looking at her with wide eyes that held nothing but hurt in them. Meeting her eyes he spun on his foot and headed away from them quickly not bothering to look back.

Swallowing back a sob that threatened to break loose she let Brisiggle lead her back to the forest. Jareth had explained it was getting her here that was hard. Her going back to her world would be easy and wouldn't require as much magic.

Confused and hurt this wasn't how she had pictured their time today ending. So as they entered the forest she took Brisiggle's hand and wiped her eyes with her free hand trying to get rid of the tears.

* * *

Mrs. McClain was just waking up as Sarah got back into the kitchen. Mentally she was a bit confused when she got back to her home to see only a few hours had passed though she had spent nearly a day with Jareth in his world. There must be a time difference or something at work. Or maybe it was just stupid Jareth's stupid magic not like she cared about any of that anymore. Shaking her head from her thoughts she greeted her neighbor as she wiped any stray tears from her face.

"Dearie! Are you alright? You look a bit of a mess. So sorry that I dozed off, tends to happen a lot when you get older!"

"I'm okay Mrs. McClain; I was just outside, playing in the yard. I'll go wash up for bed."

She mumbled as she stood and headed up the stairs.

"Such a sweet girl."

Mrs. McClain said to herself, unaware that her charge was up in the bathroom crying all her frustrations out.

* * *

Of course he regretted everything and now he couldn't even apologize to her. It was worse that he had made her cry, he couldn't believe himself. The tears that he had sought to stop at one point he was now the cause of. He was miserable and he had no idea how to fix it. Now he wouldn't see Sarah for a year his time. An entire year. The idea that he would be alone now for a year haunted him. If he hadn't picked that fight with her he was sure he could have figured out some way that the pair of them could have communicated in this time apart. He was sure he couldn't get to her where she was going, Scotland. Not like she'd want him there now anyways.

Kicking at a stone he made his way back into his palace trying his best to blend in and to go unnoticed. Most of the servants avoided him though, when their prince was in this kind of mood they knew to steer clear.

Making his way to his room he slammed the door shut to mope and wallow in his foul mood.

A year without seeing her.

A year with seeing nothing but those tear stained green eyes.

* * *

He felt guilty leaving the queen's study knowing he was about to betray her in such a manner. She would know of his betrayal soon enough when he was no longer around the castle. The king stayed far from his kingdom, it was rumored that he was deep in the Elven Kingdom enjoying the company of his many mistresses. It would take him at the longest a month to get to his highness and deliver his message. A month to figure out how much of the truth he did want to tell his king, either all of it or just bits and pieces of information. As he jumped from an open window and took flight in the sky he made up his mind to spare the girl for now. There was no need for the king to know her name or of the green eyes that she had. If the prince cared for the human at all, when his father came home as he knew he would, he would keep that information to himself as well. The king wouldn't kill his only heir or wife, but the life of a little mortal girl would mean nothing to him.

Hating his role in life and the fact that he had to alert the king he flew in the sky trying his best to not feel like a complete jerk. Rarely did he feel this bad about something it was enough to drive someone mad.

* * *

**A/N: **Hey everyone! Sorry that it took forever for an update. I was released from the hospital and with that freedom I took flight to the beach for a weeklong vacation! Feels good to be out and about again! Thanks for being so patient with me. Now the timeline in the story is going to be a bit hectic for the next chapter or two. I'm trying to decide if I want to do the next chapter just from Jareth's POV for the entire year of his time. Which might take two chapters? Then the next be Sarah's POV for her three months. Or just have it be both of them as it has been. I got different ideas for both scenarios though! So let me know what you think. Jareth's dad should be making an appearance in the next chapter though, that evil git! I'm debating on upping the rating too, hope that doesn't bother anyone! Leave reviews :] Congrats for this being my longest chapter as of right now, hope that makes up for me not posting before now! Sorry for the overly long note too! Until next time. :D


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